Rear end construction for tractor plow



April 26, 1955 w QERMAN 2,706,940

REAR END CONSTRUCTION FOR TRACTOR PLOW Filed bee. 2, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

JNVENTOR. OREY W. OERMAN A ril 26, 1955 o. w. OERMAN REAR END CONSTRUCTION FOR TRACTOR PLOW 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 2, 1950 INVENTOR. OREY W. OERMAN BY United States Patent Office Patented itgiitfi by means of a generally vertical y extending standard 8, the upper end of each of which is connected by a 2,706,940 bracket 9 to the rear end of the associated beam. The

f REAR END igg g FOR TRACTOR wheel 12 and a front land wheel 13 connected, respec Orey W. Oerman, Moline, Ill., assignor to Deere & Company, Moline, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application December 2 195 serial 193,83 1'7 pivotally connected with the frame and which is 0011- 6 Claims. (Cl. 97127) associated half-revolution, self-interrupting clutch 20. The clutch 20 is controlled by a cable-operated trip lever 21. A clutch-lift plow of this general type is The present invention relates generally to agricultural 15 hown in the U, S, patent t Strandlund 2,179,526, isimplements and is more particularly concerned With sued November 14, 1939, to which reference may be ground wheel supported plows and the like in which the made if necessary. urrow opener carrying frame means is raiseo and lowered Swinging the depth-adjusting lever 17 from one po- Telailve t0 the ground Wheels y means of a g g sition to another has the effect of rocking both of the crank axle and a self-interrupting clutch actuated by the 20 crank xl 14 and 15, since they are interconnected, ground wheel on the crank axle. the lever 17 being connected by the link 18 with the In plows of this type, especially when operating in a crank 19, the latter normally being locked against roposition of shallow plowing, the crank axle occupies a tation by the trip lever 21. The lever 17 carries handposition in which it is almost vertical when the plow is in controlled detent means 23 which cooperates with a its transport position. This results in a condition in 25 notched sector 24 carried by the plow frame. The opwhich, when the lift clutch is tripped, the crank axle may eration of the half-revolution clutch 20, which is connot readily swing forwardly under the weight of the ventional so far as the present invention is concerned, p w frame. especially under i i n h e xces iv is well understood by those skilled in the art so that resistance to forward travel of the land wheel is enfurther description is unnecessary except to point out, countered. however, that the crank axle 15 extends forwardly and The object and general nature of the present invendownwardly in most raised positions of the plow, the tion resides in the provision of new and improved means crank axle 15 being more nearly vertical in the more for exerting an assisting force tending to swing the land hallow plowing ositions, a illustrated in Figure 2. wheel crank axle forwardly so as to facilitate the rapid e rear end con truction of the plow comprise a wen'n of the implement into its operating position rear furrow Wheel 31 mounted for rotation on the lower, More specifically, according to the present invention, laterally outwardly turned end of a generally vertically means is provided whereby CllShlOIlll1 means associated extending crank axle 32, the upper portion 33 of which wit the rear furrow wheel is arranged to act a ains serves as a spindle that 18 mounted for swinging movethe land wheel when the plow is raised and to lmpar ment about a generally vertical axis in a casting member to the land wheel crank axle an initial movement in the 34. The latter member is connected by a pair of vertilOWeIiHg direction, wh r by th Crank M16 is positively cally spaced, generally longitudinally extending links 35 shifted forwardly out of its approximately vertical poand 36 to the rear bracket 9 of the p ow. Preferably, sition so that the weight of the plow will then become th forward ends of the links 35 and 36 are pivotally effective to continue the forward swinging movement of connected to a bracket 37 which is readily attachable to the crank axle. the rear portion of the rear frame bracket 9.

It is also a feature of the present invention to provide A rear axle lock member 41, notched, as at 42, is means for locking the rear furrow wheel against castering, fixed by suitable clamping means including a clamping even when the plow is raised into its transport position, cap member and a pair of clamping bolts 46 to the to permit towing the plow at relatively high transport upper end of the spindle section 33 of the crank axle speeds without whipping action and to increase the effec- 50 The upper link member 33 includes a forwardly tive maneuverability of the plow for transport, storage extending section 51 hich is pivotally connected by and other purposes. a link 52 with the rearwardly extending arm 53 of at These and other objects and advantages of the present bell crank 54 that is pivotally mounted for rocking moveinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the art ment on the rear plow bracket 9 by any suitable means, after a consideration of the following detailed descrip- 55 such as a ammer strap 56 The upwardly extending tion, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawarm 57 of the bell crank 54 is connected by means of ings, in which: a fore-andaft extending rod 58 with an arm 59 that igure 1 is a side view of a tractor drawn plow in is fixed to and rockable by the land wheel crank axle which the principles of the present invention have been 15. The upper end of the bell crank section 57 carries incorporated. 60 a sleeve swingably mounted on the bell crank through Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing the trunnions 66, and the rear end of the rod 58 is threaded plow in its raised position and the associated cushioning and receives a pair of adjustable lock nuts 67. A com spring means compressed so as to act to swing the land pression spring 68 is carried by the rod 54 rearwardly wheel crank axle forwardly and upwardly as soon as of the bell crank arm 57 and ahead of the adjusting the lifting clutch is tripped to permit the plow to lower. 65 nuts 67.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view, corresponding The operation of the implement as so far described generally to a view taken along the line 3-3 of Figis substantially as follows. ure 2. Referring first to Figure 1, the depth control lever 17 is Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, showing how shown as disclosed in an intermediate position, and when the rear wheel crank stop accommodates a different po- 7 the lever 17 is in this position, actuation of the clutch sitioning of the plow beams. control lever 21, when the plow is in operating position,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view, showing serves to cause the forward rotation of the land wheel the means for locking the rear wheel against castering 13 to act through the link 18 against the lever 17 and when such action is not desired. cause the land wheel crank axle 15 to swing downwardly Referring now more particularly to Figure 1, the frame and rearwardly substantially into the position shown in o the plow in which the principles of the present in- Figure 1. As t e cran axle 15 swings downwardly and vention have been incorporated, is indicated by the referrearwardly, the arm 59 is rocked forwardly, which exerts ence numeral 1 and comprises a plurality of plow beams a pull through the rod 58 and the rear cushioning spring 2, 3 and 4 suitably connected together by crossbars and 68 against the upwardly extending arm 57 of the bell by a rear, generally diagonally extending truss bar 5. crank 54. This results in a downward swinging of the Each beam carries a plow bottom 7 connected thereto rear furrow wheel axle casting 34 and the elevation of the rear end of the implement. During the raising action, the cushioning spring 68, acting between the rear end of the rod 53 and the bell crank arm 57, serves to reduce the peak lifting load of the rear end of the plow. However, when the plow is adjusted for the more shallow plowing depths the spring 68 has another function, namely, to prevent the land axle 15 from jackknifing.

The plow frame diagonal bar 5 is fixed to the flanges 71 and 72 of the side plates making up each of the frame brackets 9 by means of a plurality of pairs of clamping bolts '74. According to the present invention, I provide a rear lift crank stop member 76 which preferably is in the form of a generally elongated, rectangular plate apertured to receive the associated pair of clamping bolts 7 4, whereby the plate may be mounted on the plow frame directly ahead of the upwardly extending bell crank arm 57. The plate 76 is so constructed and arranged that, as best shown in Figure 2, when the depthadjusting lever 17 is in one of its more shallow plowing positions, as shown in Figure 2, when the lift clutch 20 is actuated to raise the plow into a transport position, the bell crank arm 57 comes up against the rear end of the stop member 76 before the plow reaches its completely raised position, whereby the continued forward swinging of the land wheel crank axle arm 59, until the raising is completed, pulls forwardly on the rod 58 and places the cushioning spring 68 under compression, the rod 58 sliding forwardly through the sleeve 65 during this action. By virtue of the fact that the cushioning spring 68 is now under compression, when the plow is raised from a shallow plowing position, the spring exerts a continuous force through the rod 58 and against the arm 59 tending to swing the crank axle 15, now in a generally vertical position, forwardly in the lowering direction. However, no actual movement occurs since the clutch 26 is locked in its disengaged position and no forward swinging of the crank axle 15 is permitted until the trip lever 21 is actuated to cause the plow to lower. However, when it is desired to lower the plow and the trip lever 21 actuated, the energy stored in the compression spring 63 is instantly available to start the crank axle 15 moving forwardly even before the forward rotation of the land wheel 13 begins to act through the clutch 2t) and the link 18 to swing the land wheel crank axle forwardly and upwardly. Thus, the plow lowers without hesitation, even though the land wheel 13 encounters more than normal soil resistance, as when operating in soft ground, trashy conditions or the like. The parts are so designed that the spring 68 is effective to swing the land wheel crank axle 15 forwardly, and with it the associated furrow wheel crank axle 14, until the crank axles are in such position that the weight of the forward portion of the plow is sufficient to insure the continued forward and upward swinging of the crank axles into the lowered or plowing position, even though the cushioning spring 68 no longer contacts the bell crank arm 57.

By virtue of the fact that, when the plow is raised into its transport position from one of its shallow operating positions, the bell crank arm 57 is swung into engagement with the stop member 7 6, the rear end construction of the present invention is in the nature of a constant lift arrangement; that is, the rear end is always raised to the same point from a shallow plowing position, irrespective of the particular position of the depth-adjusting lever 17. In the deeper plowing positions, the spring 68 serves as a cushioning spring. Further, it will also be seen that the spring 68 will be compressed an amount which is approximately proportional to the position of the depth-adjusting lever 17. That is to say, in the most shallow plowing position, in which the crank axles 14 and 15 are swung most nearly into a vertical position, the spring 68 is compressed to the greatest extent, and is therefore capable of exerting in insuring the forward and upward swinging of the crank axles when the plow clutch is tripped to lower the plow into an operating position. Thus, the effective force of the spring 68 adjusted according to the needs for additional force to aid in lowering the plow.

Normally, the rear furrow wheel 31 is free to caster when the plow is in its transport position, in which the notch 42 is out of engagement with the upper end of the rear plow bottom standard 8. However, means is provided, according to the principles of the present invention, for locking the rear furrow wheel against castering in the transport position of the plow, so as to permit towing the plow at higher transport speeds than would otherwise be feasible. To this end, the cap 45 is provided with a rear extension 91 which is apertured, as at 92, to receive a lock pin 93. The upper portion of the rear furrow wheel casting member 34 is formed with a rear- 94, preferably havwardly extending apertured portion 96, to receive the lower ing upper and lower slots and end of the pin 93. Thus, when the rear furrow wheel is in its straight-ahead position, to lock the rear furrow wheel against castering, all that it is necessary to o is to drop the pin 93 through the aperture 92 and into the slotted boss sections or apertured portions 95 and 96. This provides a simple and easily operated means for locklng the cap 45 and the rear wheel casting member 35 together so that the rear wheel cannot caster.

As best shown in Figures 4 and S, in order to provide a stop member 76 that may be mounted on plow frames assembled for several different plowing widths, the stop plate member 76 has the rear bolt-receiving aperture 101 formed as a slot, and the forward aperture 102 is similar, being formed as three overlapping bolt holes or as an elongated slot. When the plow is arranged with the narrower bottoms, as, for example, 12-inch bottoms, the rear diagonal bar 5 makes a more acute angle with respect to the plow beams 2, 3 and 4, and hence in such a plow the clamping bolts 74 are farther apart than, as shown in Figure 4, when the plow is arranged to receive 16-inch bottoms, in which case the beams 2, 3 and 4 are farther apart than the diagonal bar 5 disposed at a somewhat less acute angle relative to the beams, and the clamping bolts 74, thus somewhat closer together than they are when the plow is arranged for 12-inch bottoms, as shown in Figure 3. The plate member 76 and the three interconnected bolt-receiving openings 102 thus provide stop means associated with the rear wheel lift crank for limiting the forward movement thereof to substantially the same position, irrespective of whether the plow is constructed and arranged to receive 12-inch bottoms, 14-inch bottoms or 16-inch bottoms.

While I have shown and described above the preferred structure in which the principles of the present invention have been incorporated, it is to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the particular details, shown and described above, but that, in fact. widely different means may be employed in the practice of the broader aspects of my invention.

What I claim, therefore, and desire to secure Letters Patent is:

l. A plow comprising frame means, rear end support means including a rear wheel swingably connected with said frame means, a lever pivoted to said frame means and connected with said rear wheel to swing the latter, a stop adjustably carried by said frame means and arranged thereon to limit movement of said lever when said rear wheel is in one position, and lift means including a spring and a part acting through the spring against said lever for swinging the latter to shift said wheel, said part being movable relative to said lever to bias said spring after said lever has been swung into engagement with said stop, said part, lever and spring being so constructed and arranged that the bias imparted to said spring following movement of said part after the latter has moved said lever against said stop is transmitted through said part back to said lift means.

2. A plow comprising frame means, rear end support means including a rear wheel swingably connected with lever pivoted to said frame means and connected with said rear wheel to swing the latter, a stop carried by said frame means and arranged thereon to limit movement of said lever when said rear wheel is in one position, and lift means including a spring and a part acting through the spring against said lever for swinging the latter to shift said wheel, said part being movable relative to said lever to bias said spring after said lever has been swung into engagement with said stop, said part, lever and spring being so constructed and arranged that the bias imparted to said spring following movement of said part after the latter has moved said lever against said stop is transmitted through said part back to said lift means.

3. A plow comprising frame means, rear end support means including a shiftable rear wheel and a pivoted lever connected to shift the rear wheel, a crank axle iournaled on said frame for generally downward and rearward swinging movement into an approximately vertical posi- 6 tion, a part on said frame disposed in front of said lever, apertured parts to receive the associated bolts and ad- Whereby when the latter is swun in a forward direction 3' stable relative to the latter so as to receive said bolts through a given distance the lever engages said part in any position of said diagonal bar relative to said beams, and is limited in its forward movement thereby, means rear end support means for said frame including a rear for swingnig said crank axle, and means connecting the 5 wheel swingably connected with said frame, alever pivoted last mentioned means with said lever including a spring to said frame substantially directly in rear of said sto and a part acting through the sprin against said lever plate and connected with said rear Wheel to swing the for shifting the latter into contact with said part on latter, said stop plate serving to limit forward movement t e frame, said connecting part being movable relative of said lever when said rear Wheel is shifted in a diiecto said lever after the latter is in contact with said frame tion to raise the rear end of the plow frame, and means part so as to bias said spring and cause the latter to reincluding a spring and a part acting through the sprin act through said lever and the part on the frame foragainst said lever foi swinging the latter to shift said ward thereof for imparting movement to said crank axle. wheel, said part being movable relative to said lever In a plow of the type having a frame, a crank to bias said spring after said lever has been swung into axle journaled on said frame for generally downward engagement with said stop plate. and rearward swinging movement into an approximately 6. An agricultural implement comprising a tool carryvertical position, a ground wheel on the swinging end of ing frame, a crank axle journalcd thereon, adjusting means said crank axle, and wheel-operated, self-interrupting operable through a given range for swinging said crank clutch means acting between said frame and said crank axle to adjust the operating position of said frame, mechaXle for swinging the latter, the improvement which inanism operative through a predetermined range of movecludes a rear end construction comprising a shiftable rear ment and reacting against said means for swinging said Wheel, a lever adapted to be pivoted on said frame crank axle to raise and lower said frame, a movable supand connected to shift said rear wheel a part on said port connected with said frame, a member movably frame isp 111 front of Said lever, whereby h h mounted on said frame and operatively connected with latter is swung in a forward direction through a given said support for shifting the same relative to said frame, distance the lever engages said part and is limited in its a stop carried on said frame in a position to be engaged forward movement thereby, and means for Connecting by said member for limiting the movement thereof rela- Sal-d lever With Said Crank axle, whereby Said lever is tive to said frame in one direction, a connecting member shifted in a forward direction against said part by moveextending from said crank axle to said first mentioned ment of said crank axle in a downward and rearward member, and spring means connecting said members direction, said connecting means including a spring and whereby, before aid fir t member engages aid sto a P actlng thmllgh the SPflHg agalnst 831d lever for said first member serves to cushion the application of a shifting the latter into contact with said part on th lifting force transmitted from said connecting member to rame, said connecting part being movable r lativ t said first member and the latter is fiee to move in either said lever after the latter is in contact with said frame direction relative to said frame, said stop being disposed part so as to bias said spring and cause the lat er to r on said frame 111 such position that when Sald adjusllllg act through said lever and the part on the fram fo means 1S closely ad acent one of its end positions, actua- Ward thereof for lmpartlng movement t0 881d Crank tion of said mechanism through said predetermined range 3X16 t0 Swing the latter p y and forwardly acts through said crank axle and said connecting member tive to said frame. to swing said crank axle into a frame-raising position A P comprising ffamfi means including a p and to bring said first member into engagement with YaIiiY of generally Parallel P beams, adapted t0 be said stop, whereby when said mechanism is operated with connected together with said beams disposed different aid adjusting means close to its said end position, said distances apart to accommodate different widths of plow i g mean i biased to start the movement of said bottoms, a truss bar eXtePdiHg ag a y across the rear crank axle toward its frame-lowering position.

angles relative to said beams in the different lgtebral References Citedinthe file of this patent s acing of the latter, and means for clamping sai ar t said beams, including bolt-receiving parts disposed par- UNITED STATES PATENTS allel to said beams and having bolt-receiving openings no 1,302,016 Dickinson Apr. 29, 1919 and bolts passing therethrough at front and rear sides of 2,184,403 Strandlund Dec. 26, 1939 said bar, said openings being slotted to accommodate 2,334,888 Strandlund Nov. 23, 1943 different positions of said bolts when the bar is disposed 2,340,495 Strandlund Feb. 1, 1944 in different angular positions relative to said beams, a 2,383,022 Strandlund Aug. 21, 1945 

